Tinnitus for One Year

[Lori M]

Hello. I've had tinnitus for about a year now or maybe a little longer. It's constant and bothers me mostly at night when it's very quiet. I had a couple of colds and felt like my ears were plugged. After several months, my doc referred me to an ENT for the possibility of tubes to drain my ears.

Imagine my shock at being informed that my ears were actually completely clear and there was no explanation for tinnitus. Sorry, nothing can be done; you'll have to live with it.

I started researching, found this forum, and also found out something else I never knew: Claritin (which I take) may cause tinnitus.

Tomorrow I'm going to the drugstore to try a different medication. I have to take it year-round due to horrible allergies. I hope switching will calm my tinnitus, or maybe I can try some kind of natural allergy relief.

Thanks. Going to do some more reading

 

[Contrast]

Do you have a history of noise exposure, loud music, cars?

Were you checked for hearing loss, that's a common cause of tinnitus.

 

[Lori M]

Hi Contrast, no history of loud noises. When I was referred to ENT, the first thing they did was a hearing test which showed very minor loss in one ear. I'm 56, so that was no huge shock ;-)

I'm reading more and more about Claritin-D possibly causing tinnitus. I'm trying not to get too excited, but I'm definitely going to try something different.